#history
#art
Cradle of Indian Modern Art.
Shantinektan is famous as the abode of the school established by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore.
However a little known fact is that Indian modern art was born in Calcutta and Shantiniketan.
Known as the Bengal School of Art, the movement
encouraged Indian art to revert to its cultural roots and classical forms.
It was around 1905 when Ernest Binfield Havell, the principal of the Government College of Art in Calcutta, and Abanindranath Tagore, the Indian artist-intellectual, urged their students to give up on academics based on European standards and look for their ideals in Indian classical art forms like Mughal miniatures, Ajanta frescoes, and Rajasthani paintings.
This distinctly Indian modernism blossomed throughout India during the British Raj of the early 20th century and formed an important component of the general nationalist movement.
The Bengal School’s artists embraced indigenous techniques, such as tempera painting, and often depicted mythological and historical themes. Most works were done with delicate lines, a very muted color palette, and spiritual depth opposite to the realism imbued in Western art. Key players in developing this style included the likes of Nandalal Bose, Asit Kumar Haldar, and Kshitindranath Majumdar.
Photos:
4. “Bharat Mata” by Abanindranath Tagore (1905).
It was a painting that personified India as the mother goddess. Wearing saffron-colored attire with a holy vase in its hands, it had come to symbolise Indian Nationalism and the Swadeshi movement.
5. “New Clouds” by Nandalal Bose (1937).
6. “Krishna Lila” by Asit Kumar Haldar.
